ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss caught up with Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty, who is working with former New England safety Lawyer Milloy at a football camp this week at Merrimack College.
 Ras-I Dowling should give the Patriots a taller, physical presence in the Patriots defensive backfield. (FILE:Icon/SMI) |
"When I first walked up to him, I heard he was big, but he was like 6-2, maybe 200 , 205 pounds. He looks like a specimen," McCourty told Reiss during the interview. "I think when guys get drafted, everyone looks at their physical tools and what they might be able to do on the field right away, but just talking to him, I'm trying to explain the defense and as I'm saying a sentence, he's just finishing it. It seems like he has a lot of football knowledge. I think that's important when you come in to the New England defense; if you have some football knowledge that you can put together with what Coach Belichick teaches us, I think it can go a long way."
McCourty also feels that the 6-2, 200-pound Dowling could potentially give the Patriots an edge facing off against New York's Braylon Edwards, and Miami's Brandon Marshall. It makes sense that Bill Belichick may have had that on his mind before selecting Dowling, since Edwards had a touchdown in both of New York's wins over New England last season, while Marshall combined for 10-receptions and 147-yards receiving in their two meetings against Miami.
"We have some receivers in our league now that are huge, just in our division last year, playing against Braylon Edwards and Brandon Marshall," he told Reiss. "When you line up at the size he has, he can step up and go toe for toe with those guys physically, and he has good speed so he can run with them too."
Hopefully we'll finally get a look at him in the not-too-distant future when training camp finally opens in the next couple of weeks.
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